Toshiba, as you might know, currently holds the record for the world’s fastest elevator. The company’s lifts allow people to travel up and down floors in Taipei 101 (in Taiwan) at 38mph. But in 2016, Hitachi will be taking over as the record holder with their new elevators – speed demons whilch will be moving at 45mph.

Hitachi will be installing two lifts inside Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre (currently under construction) in China. In one of these lifts you will, apparently, be able to move from the ground floor to the 95th floor (the building will have 111 floors) in just 43 seconds. That’s pretty quick.

But we are not sure whether everyone will be feeling normal after a vertical ride in one of the Hitachi lifts. You might feel that 45mph is alright, but do not compare the ride in your car with that in a lift. However, according to the Japanese company, the new lifts come equipped with technology that will ensure a perfectly safe ride for the people. There’s tech which will prevent side-to-side shaking and the lift is made from heat-resistant materials. And there’s an equipment called the “governor” which will put on the brakes when excessive speeds are detected. Hitachi tested the lift after building a 698-feet tower (yes, they built it just to test it) back in 2010.

What are your thoughts about Hitachi’s new lifts? Really fast, right? Or is that speed still not enough for you?

]]>http://www.mobilemag.com/2014/04/23/worlds-fastest-elevator-hitachi/feed/0Space Elevator Concept From Japanhttp://www.mobilemag.com/2012/02/24/space-elevator-concept-from-japan/ http://www.mobilemag.com/2012/02/24/space-elevator-concept-from-japan/#commentsFri, 24 Feb 2012 16:14:06 +0000http://www.mobilemag.com/?p=129811Are you amazed after hearing about the travel distance of an elevator in the Burj Khalifa? Then get ready for this new concept from Tokyo-based construction company Obayashi Corp. The Japanese company has come out with their space elevator concept which involves constructing a space cable, which extends a quarter of the way to the moon from the Earth’s surface.

Are you amazed after hearing about the travel distance of an elevator in the Burj Khalifa? Then get ready for this new concept from Tokyo-based construction company Obayashi Corp. The Japanese company has come out with their space elevator concept which involves constructing a space cable, which extends a quarter of the way to the moon from the Earth’s surface.

If you are thinking that this is a crazy new idea, the concept of a space elevator has been around for decades. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower, Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, who introduced a concept of a free-standing tower reaching into space way back in 1895. In recent years, the topic has been discussed in many conferences and even NASA is interested in it.

Expected to become a reality in 2050, the Japanese space elevator design features a 96,000 kilometer (59,652 mile) cable made of carbon nanotubes extending into space from a station on the ground. There will be a counterweight at the end of the cable to hold the entire thing in place.

The vehicle carrying the passengers (30 at a time) and cargo will be travelling along the cable with speeds of around 200 km/h. Their destination will be a station with residential facilities and a research center 36,000 kilometers from the surface of the Earth. At the above said speed, the elevator journey might take about a week (no, you won’t be standing all the way). As you can see in the above figure, electricity for the terminal station will be generated via solar panels.

But the company isn’t talking about how much all this might cost (trillions?), or where its location will be (most likely somewhere around the equator as centripetal forces are required for keeping the cable stretched), or about the risks involved (bad weather, or an issue with the counterweight which could result in the cable becoming a waist belt for our planet).